2nd Grade Field Trip

 The students were so disappointed when our field trip had to be rescheduled, but it was well worth it to enjoy the beautiful weather we had on Wednesday!  We started our field trip by eating and playing at Lake Park.  Lake Park has recently been renovated and updated, and it is a beautiful park!  The students loved it, and many other school groups enjoyed it that day as well!  It was a busy place!

Then we headed over to Lake Lodge to go paddling on the liberty boats.  After teaching us how to use the paddles and enter the boats, the guides gave us challenges to go out and do in our boats.  Successfully paddling the boats requires a lot of teamwork and communication.  This can be challenging!  It's a great experience and so fun for the kids to get out in nature and enjoy the day!  Thank you Lake Lodge staff for such a great day!

Balloon #4: Treasure Hunt

 The students were excited to hear that our day would end with a treasure hunt!  My son, Mason, joined us to read aloud the clues at each location.  Our treasure hunt ended in Mr. Semmen's office.  We brought the treasure back to our room and unwrapped the new book "Grumpy Monkey Up All Night" along with some freshly baked cookies.  What a great way to end a Friday!

Balloon #3: Bumper Seats

 Bumper seats in the classroom has always been a student favorite.  Due to Covid this year, we haven't been able to sit by a partner or in small groups with our desks.  For bumper seats, the students were able to pick out one friend to sit next to for the day.  They loved it!

Balloon #2: Marker Day!

 It's always fun when you get to write with something other than a pencil on your assignments!  Balloon number 2 was marker day.  The students could choose to write with a marker, crayon, or colored pencil all day long!

Balloon Countdown: Balloon #1

 This week we began our balloon countdown to the last day of school!  The first balloon we popped was to write a letter to a senior to congratulate them and wish them well.  We delivered our letters on Wednesday, and it was so nice of the seniors to write us back.  Congratulations seniors!!

Ag Day!

 Last week we were able to attend Ag Day presented by the high school FFA students.  The class loved seeing the different animals and tractors.  Thank you Mrs. Ruen and the FFA students for your wonderful presentations!

Mystery Reader #15: A Much Loved Reader!

 1. I love to read to kids.

2. When I started working at this school, the following parents were students at Lanesboro:

-Trent Eide

-Lindsay Lea

-Alysha Himle

-Sasha Holst

-Jeremiah Holst

-Stena Lieb

-Jeff Norby

-Dana Norby

-Kristi Qualy

-Brandon Qualy

-Jordan Redalen

-Stephanie Strahl

-Alesha Sveen

-Torie Peterson

-Josh Unnasch

-Tanya Wolfs

3. I have 2 grandkids.

The students were so stumped by these clues!  They guessed Mrs. Ruen in 5th grade.  They guessed Mrs. Boyum, the music teacher.  One student did guess Ms. Drew in the office, and she was right!  Ms. Drew is such a fantastic reader because she reads with so much expression as she matches her voice perfectly to each character!  The class was laughing the whole time as Ms. Drew enthusiastically read the first few chapters of "Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy."  Ms. Drew said she wanted to introduce the students to these chapter books so they might continue to read them.  The students were definitely in search of the book she began because they wanted to read more!  Thanks for being so awesome Ms. Drew!  We love listening to you read!

Force and Motion Science Unit

 We recently finished up our science unit on Force and Motion.  We started our unit by learning that a force is needed to make an object move, change speed, or change direction.  A force is a push or a pull motion.  We explored this concept through an interesting obstacle course.  The students had to push or pull a bowling ball with a broom through our course and keep it in the boundaries.  The students were paired up, and their goal was to have the fastest time.  They soon found out that it wasn't as easy as it looked!

Another concept we explored was friction.  We questioned whether the type of surface on each ramp would affect how quickly a small car would go down a ramp.  We measured this by how far the car traveled from the ramp.  In our investigation, the plain wood ramp had the leas amount of friction and the rubber material on another ramp provided the most amount of friction.

Mystery Reader #14:

 1. I am a student at Lanesboro Middle School.

2. I have 2 siblings.

3. I participate in volleyball and 4-H.

This student thought it just might be her older sister who would be stopping in as our Mystery Reader today, and she was right!  This eighth grade older sister brought a book that was perfect for her little sister, a nonfiction book about horses and ponies.  This student loves horses, and many of her classmates do to!  Thank you so much for being our Mystery Reader!  It was so nice to see you in 2nd grade!

Mystery Reader #13: A Mustang Driving Grandma

 1. I am someone's grandma.

2. I drive a Mustang as a 2nd car.

3. I like to camp.

Although a few students thought it might be their grandma, this student felt certain it was her grandma because she said her grandma really loves camping.  She read us the story "Cowboy Boyd and Mighty Calliope" by Lisa Moser.  This is one of her granddaughter's favorites!  The class enjoyed asking our Mystery Reader about her love of camping and her family's experiences with horses.  Thanks so much for reading to us Deb!

Mystery Reader #12: A Brown Eyed Older Sister

 1. I have a brown eyes.

2. I have more than 2 siblings.

3. I don't live in Lanesboro.

This older sister was so sweet to come in and surprise her younger brother!  Little brother looked so proud next to her!  She had just finished up her MCA testing when she stopped by to read the story of "Verdi" by Janell Cannon to the class.  This story describes what a snake goes through as it grows up, and the pictures are beautiful!  We loved having you in 2nd grade!  Thanks for being a Mystery Reader!

Mystery Reader #11: A Horse Loving Mom

 1. I was a Lanesboro Burro from kindergarten through 12th grade.

2. I enjoy running.

3. I have one daughter, two dogs, and too many horses!

The whole class was certain whose mom would be surprising us as a Mystery Reader after reading the clues today!  Although many students in our class love horses, only one mom fit all of these clues.  She read us a special book made especially for her daughter.  It was fun for us to put the letters together throughout the book to spell out her daughter's name!  We also enjoyed learning more about our Mystery Reader's job and her horses!  Thanks for reading to us today, Alesha!

Cereal Box Challenge

 On Friday, the elementary students gathered in the gym to watch the cereal box challenge.  The elementary collected a total of 220 boxes of cereal!  The boxes were set up in a design to fall like dominoes!  All of the cereal will be donated to the Preston Food Shelf.

Student Writing Project- Poetry Books

 We recently finished writing four poems for our poetry books.  Each student wrote an acrostic poem, portrait poem, haiku, and 2 words on a line poem.  The students created a piece of artwork to go with each poem.  The books were completed with an About the Author page.  Their books turned out so nice, and the class couldn't wait to see them all put together on Friday.  The books will be on the rug for a few weeks for the class to enjoy!

Mystery Reader #10: Our First High School Duo!

 1. We are the first Mystery Reader duo!

2.  We didn't always go to the same school.

3.  We became friends over quarantine.

These clues left the class completely clueless!  Mason had one more trick up his sleeve.  He wanted to come back as a Mystery Reader with a good friend of his who just began attending Lanesboro Schools a few months ago.  They read one of our favorites, "Watch Me Throw the Ball!" by Mo Willems.  We also enjoyed listening to a few guitar tunes at the end.  Thank you for reading to us this week, Mason and Lucas!  We loved it!